Jones taught music in
South Carolina from 1951 to 1952, and became a member of
Count Basie's orchestra in 1953, remaining there until 1962. He recorded frequently with this ensemble, and also played with Basie in smaller ensembles; these featured both Basie sidemen (
Joe Newman,
Frank Foster,
Frank Wess,
Thad Jones,
Ernie Wilkins) and others (
Milt Jackson,
Coleman Hawkins,
Putte Wickman). Jones quit music in 1962 and took a job with
IBM; he later became vice president of an
insurance company. In the 1980s he returned to jazz and played on and off in
swing jazz ensembles.
^"Obituary: Eddie Jones", The Independent, June 2, 1997. Accessed February 18, 2024. "Jones's family home in Red Bank, New Jersey was two doors away from Count Basie's."
^"The Count Comes Home; Basie Plays Jazz Concert Tonight at 8", Red Bank Register, March 9, 1961. Accessed February 18, 2024, via
Newspapers.com. "Eddie Jones was graduated from Red Bank in 1946 and completed a five-year music major course at Howard University in 1951. He taught school for a year in Greensboro, N. C., before he joined with Count Basie."